216 Alexander Goodman More. [i86& 



ground, and especially along the south shore of the lake 

 to the westward, grew Erica mackayi, scarcely yet in 

 flower/' From that day the importance of having a 

 thoroughly exhaustive search made for Erica ciliaris, whose 

 claim to be an Irish plant rests solely on the Craigga-more 

 records, was deeply impressed upon him. 



But all this time there were no seals. Not till the last 

 day of July, when he paid his first visit to Kilkieran Bay, 

 some ten miles south-east of Roundstone, was he gratified 

 with a sight of the wished-for game. In the afternoon of 

 that day '* I went up the harbour with two men in a small 

 sailing boat, and soon saw a large seal (grey) give one or 

 two rolls in a calm spot and then go under, 150 yards off. 

 Another, on a rock 120 yards distant, wriggled off before 

 we could get nearer. Showers of rain ; landed and looked 

 round an islet ; landed again on a bit of the mainland ; 

 no seals there. But nearly at head of creek saw a seal 

 sitting on a very low rock, often turning its white face 

 towards us. Landed at back of the islet and tried to stalk 

 up to within eighty yards, the nearest possible ; but the 

 seal was down wind and must have heard us, or seen the 

 boatman, as it went off. Wind now right ahead, and 

 strong; we were obliged to sleep at head of creek. Three 

 seals seen, and not a shot fired/' 



The little port into which he had been driven for the 

 night was Kilbrickan. Here, in the morning, he found 

 the wind still very high. He bathed, and took a " lesson 

 in Irish, under the sunny side of a house, sheltering from 

 the squalls "; then " off for a dead heat in a sea all white 

 and heavy squalls falling now and then from the high hills. 

 Perfectly drenched all of us, and the rifle: saw a fine 

 Rone-More (this is the fourth) rolling himself among the 

 breakers a sign of storm ; fired at a whitish seal on Evans 

 Rock near oyster-bed shot two inches too high. This 

 shot was fired in a rolling boat, from shoulder, seventy 

 yards. The beast grinned at me between two rocks, but 

 I let his body open before I fired. Mem., to shoot low in 

 future. . . . Another, or the same Rone More we saw yes- 

 terday, was seen swimming here ; this makes six." That 

 night was spent at Kilkieran, and next day he returned to 



